DONG Energy

Searching for oil - with the help of fishermen. The Danish energy company, DONG
Energy, maintains a close dialogue and cooperates with authorities and local fishermen
regarding an oil spill contingency plan in the Barents Sea.

Often you have to sacrifice pawns to win at chess. That was the general approach
to oil production back in the old days. This, however, is a far cry from DONG Energy's
approach. In the northernmost regions of Norway, fishermen are helping DONG Energy
establish a contingency plan in the event of a major oil spill taking place.

"When
we search for oil in the in the Barents Sea in Norway, there are a number of special
environmental considerations to be taken into account. And the weather conditions
can make tackling a potential oil spill in the sea difficult. This is why we have
already joined forces with the other oil companies and fishermen operating in the
coastal areas where we are searching for oil," explains Morten A. Torgersen,
Quality Health Safety Environment Manager for DONG Energy's Norwegian gas and oil
business.

Arctic conditions demand new insight

With 20 years' experience
in oil and gas production, DONG Energy draws on a vast wealth of industry experience
gleaned initially from its operations in the Danish part of the North Sea (which are
still ongoing) - subsequent operations in the Norwegian Sea and in the Norwegian North
Sea - and in the last 10 years, exploration activities near the Shetland Islands.
Each region, however, has its own unique characteristics and the arctic conditions
of the Barents Sea require new, in-depth insight.

Morten A. Torgersen explains:
"We always carry out thorough studies of the environmental conditions prior to
drilling. But the Barents Sea is a new region for us and if we don't have all the
necessary information, we can't prepare an accurate environmental analysis. This is
why we contacted the local fishermen and relevant authorities, including Sametinget
in Finnmark County. These stakeholders have a great deal of knowledge about the actual
conditions and strong opinions about how we should act as an industry".

Today,
DONG Energy maintains a close dialogue with the fishermen, not only to gain more information
about the geographical conditions and possible consequences of an oil spill in the
region, but also because the fishermen and their vessels play an important part in
the oil contingency plan in the Barents Sea.

DONG Energy co-owns four oil and
gas licences in the Barents Sea, three of which it operates itself. DONG Energy has
a total of nearly 70 licences which cover Denmark, Norway, the UK (near the Shetland
Islands), the Faroe Islands and Greenland.